It wasn't love at first sight
by itsnnoah
Summary: When Cinder lost her luggage and Kai needed a girlfriend, she seemed like the perfect opportunity, only... it definitely wasn't love at first sight. Modern au.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE.**

Her suitcases were lost.

Of _course_ they were.

"Thank you," she muttered to the woman she had been talking to, although it sounded more like a grunt.

Cinder could have grunted, if she wanted to, because she didn't only have to pass the entire week with her horrendous stepfamily, but to wear her sister's clothes, those awfully tight jeans and shirts. And hear her stepmother babbling about how forgetful was Cinder and how messy was her life.

The woman gave her a card with a number—the company the plane she had flown with was—and smiled. Cinder grimaced and turned around to sit on a chair, covering her face with her hands; she could have cried, and she felt like she was going to, when a girl not far away laughed, cheerfully. She wished to be that girl, happy, with what seemed to be her boyfriend.

She looked away; Cinder hated that girl for being so happy, she didn't want to be her. She stared at the clock on the wall, and noticed how late it was. She had been waiting for her lost suitcases almost two hours since her plane had landed, which meant…

"Oh, crap," she muttered to herself, picking up her phone from her bag and turning it on. Cinder bit her lower lip and waited, anxiously, until its screen brightened and, after tapping the password, she cursed again under her breath.

Four missed calls from home. Two missed calls from Pearl, and two more from her mother. She had a lot of messages.

Cinder read the last one, from Pearl, sent about an hour before; it said that she had been waiting for too long, so she had gone home.

How was _she_ getting home now?

She tried to call them, but neither Pearl nor her mother, Adri, answered. They were eating dinner, sure. Too busy to answer Cinder, who was now stuck on that airport, without clothes, without money, without anything.

"Miss Linh?" Called the woman Cinder had talked before, and her smile wasn't as bright as it had been. She closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath, and said, "Your suitcases are still in France. There was a misunderstanding. Toulouse airport will send them back here tomorrow, maybe in a few days, I am afraid. I will call you personally when they arrive."

Now she was definitely going to cry. And sob. Loudly.

She whispered an almost audible 'Thank you' and rested her head on the wall behind her, shutting her eyelids. What was she going to do? Cinder only had a few dollars, since the rest of her money was in one of her suitcases, and her mother's house was so far away. She couldn't pay a taxi. And there were no buses that late, and no one picked up her calls, and she didn't have anywhere to go _and_ she was totally screwed.

"Okay," she muttered a few minutes later, opening her eyes again. She had been through a lot, and that was not going to turn her down. She looked down her contacts list in her mobile and found Thorne, but he was probably somewhere in the U.S.A. flirting with some girl he had just met, so he was out; Scarlet and Wolf were in France, so they were out, too; Cress and Iko sure were with Thorne, so out. There were really not much people left.

Cinder needed to go out more.

She got up, stretching her body. She could buy something to eat, but if she did all her money would disappear; food in airports were more expensive than food in a fancy restaurant, and in New Beijing it was worse. It was a costly country.

Her stomach roared, and Cinder went to the nearest coffee shop. She definitely had to eat something.

But before she could get there, someone grabbed her by the arm, turning her around, and now she was facing a very tall man with a very black beard and a very angry face and a very tall woman with a very raised eyebrow. Cinder gulped and stared at the person who had grabbed her, a guy around her age with messy black hair and eyes and olive skin. He was almost the same size as her, so she didn't feel that small.

"Um," Cinder said, forcing a smile. He looked at her like he was going to die at any moment. "I think you've grab the wro—"

He kissed her so suddenly Cinder forgot what she was talking about the second his lips touched hers. She gasped again and stood on her tiptoes, because he _was_ a little taller. It had been a while since she had kissed someone and, when she realised that the guy she was kissing was a stranger, she pushed him away and looked at him wide-eyed.

"What do you—"

He put his arm around her waist and Cinder separated immediately. What was he doing?

She said, "Sorry, I've got to go to the bathroom," and then flew away.

Cinder heard the guy calling after her, but she ignored him. Did he want to kidnap her?

The moment she reached the bathrooms, she hid in one of the cubicles and waited until the speakers announced the New Beijing-Paris embarkation would soon start; she wasn't going to pick any flights in an entire week, but Cinder supposed that the kissing guy was no longer there.

Why had he kissed her? Was he some creep that liked kissing strangers in the airport or something? That sounded ridiculous, but there was a lot of crazy people out there. Maybe he was really out of his mind. Or maybe he was drunk, or maybe some friends had challenged him. Could the woman and man that were beside him be his friends? They seemed a little bit old, but it wasn't impossible.

She _hoped_ he was no longer there.

To her dismay, Cinder found him right in front of her eyes when she left the bathrooms, sat in a chair like a normal person, looking at his phone. He was crazy, sure.

Cinder sighed and tried to walk away from there as quietly as she could, but thanks to her shoes., since the tapping of them against the floor echoed through the empty hall, he noticed her right away and was by her side in half a second. "Geez, get lose," she snapped out, and he rolled his eyes and tilted his head.

That annoyed her; she should be the one rolling her eyes! He had kissed her without her permission, waited for her, followed her.

That sounded pretty much like a stalker.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I shouldn't have kissed you or grabbed you, but I had to."

"You _had to?"_

She wished that there was more people there, so she could pretend to know one of them and keep that creep at bay.

" _No._ No, no, no. No, that came out wrong. Listen, I heard that woman saying that your luggage is still in Toulouse. I _was not_ stalking you," he clarified when Cinder shot him a glare. "But I'll offer you a deal."

"A deal," she repeated, crossing her arms. He nodded furiously, and Cinder looked for the man and woman she had seen before, but they were nowhere to be seen. She sighed. She didn't have anything more interesting to do, and hearing him wasn't going to hurt her. "What deal?"

He smiled brightly. "Well, I'm passing this week with my parents. They were there when we— um. They have been pestering me about having a girlfriend for months, and I told them I was going to bring one this Christmas. But I obviously don't have one, and I was going to tell them, but then I saw you, all alone, and…"

And now Cinder was his fake girlfriend. Oh, she had seen that in a lot of movies, but normally upside down; a girl, desperately to have a date for Christmas because _everyone_ had a date, or because her parents pestered her indeed, picked up a handsome guy and asked him to be her fake boyfriend. He would say yes, obviously, and they would fall in love and then have a fight and then confess their love for each other and live happily ever after.

She had never, ever imagined she would be in that position. A completely stranger asking her to be his fake date? Whoa, impressive. She smiled a little, thinking about what the guy should have seen in her to ask her such a thing.

It was a little bit disappointing, since he was not as handsome as the men in those films, but still.

Pretending she was not astonished—because she really was—Cinder grimaced and said, "I don't even know your name."

He didn't try to cover his enthusiasm, though, when he said, "Kai. My name's Kai. And yours?"

"Cinder."

"That's a pretty name. Anyway. Ehm. I presume you had already guess what I'm talking about?"

Cinder took a while to answer, because she was still thinking about being his fake girlfriend; she didn't know if she would have to stay at his house, like in the movies, or if the man and woman she had seen before were his parents because if they were, they were scary people. Scary, tall people. That wasn't what bothered her the most, however. It was the fact that she would have to say Adri that she wouldn't be able to pass Christmas with her and Pearl.

They were the only family she had left, but they didn't feel like family at all. They blamed Cinder for her stepfather and stepsister's death, even though she had nothing to do with it. Pearl and Adri treated her like a slave, so if Cinder decided to pass the entire week with them, she would be cleaning bathrooms and furniture and making breakfast, dinner and every meal they wanted.

If she didn't, Adri would throw her away. Again.

Plus, she was twenty-four now, she could do whatever she wanted to.

Cinder stopped walking and faced the guy. Kai. He was smiling, and seemed like a beam of sun, while Cinder, with her black and green clothes and brown hair seemed more like a beam of darkness. She wondered again how could he have chosen her, since there were a lot of pretty girls in the airport. But then she realised that maybe the girls were with someone else, not like her, all alone—like he had said— and found the answer to her question.

He had seen her like an opportunity, not a girl at all.

"You want me to pretend I am your girlfriend," he nodded, although it was not a question. "And I guess you want me to meet your parents."

"They are outside."

She tried to ignore it. "You want me to stay in your house?" Before he could answer, she shook her head and fixed her eyes on his. "I will. I don't care if I have to sleep on the floor. Now, what was that deal you were talking about?"

Now he didn't beam anymore. Kai looked at her like she had just said something weird and unbelievable; he started chewing on his lower lip, and Cinder almost did the same. She let her arms fell at her sides.

"Well, the deal was giving you, um, a place to stay. And clothes. And everything you need, really. But you just asked for it, so…"

Now she felt embarrassed; he could pick other girl, because sure there were a lot of lonely girls who didn't have anyone to pass the week with. Cinder actually _had_ someone to pass the week with.

She felt her cheeks hot as she murmured, "Okay. I will pretend to be your girlfriend, if you still want me to. But I can't just meet your parents without any backstory. How did we met? It was love at first sight? Have you met my family? Have we already—"

Kai laughed, and he looked more handsome when he was not worried or serious. He was even cute. "It's all right," he managed to say and, somehow, Cinder managed to understand him. "We can figure it out later. I would tell them you are pissed because of the suitcases and that was the reason you— well, why you ran to the bathroom before. Stay here for a sec."

He turned around, but Cinder called, "Kai?"

"Yes?"

"You are not pretending this so you can kill or kidnap me later or something, are you?"

He laughed again, "My parents are going to love you."

* * *

Thanks to ** _lunarchroniclesandcockatiels_** for being an amazing beta and thank you for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO.**

While she waited for Kai to come back, since she wasn't so sure he would, Cinder tried once more to call Adri; she didn't answer, but Pearl did, although it took her a while. She sounded disappointed, or maybe angry. Cinder had never known how to describe her stepsister's voice tone. Anyway, she said, "Cinder? Is it you?"

She wanted to strangle Pearl because _of course_ it was Cinder! Who was she waiting for? The police telling her that her not-so-beloved sister had had an accident or something? She looked at the doors which Kai had disappeared through, and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, it's me. You didn't come."

Pearl sighed, "Hey, Cinder, I'm painting my nails and Mama is sleeping so, could you call tomorrow?"

Cinder closed her hands into fists, trying not to lose her temper; for all she knew, Pearl wasn't aware of her situation. She could have been kidnapped and Pearl wouldn't care even a little. "I don't have anywhere to go," she lied, only to hear what her sister would say.

"I'm busy. Bye," and then she hung up the phone, Cinder hearing a beep now.

Now she was definitely not going home; she never felt welcomed there, anyhow, but in that moment she really wanted to forget them forever. Cinder liked Kai a lot more, and she had only known him for ten minutes, and eight of those minutes she had thought he was a stalker.

She shook her head, trying to think of the Christmas she was going to have now; maybe Kai and his family were better than hers, even if his parents had seemed a little creepy before. Maybe they loved Cinder, and although she was supposed to fake a relationship with their son, they made her have a good time while staying at their house.

Cinder sat again and watched the messages she had; almost all of them were Iko's, whishing her a happy flight, a happy vacation, asking her how the flight had been. There were a few pics of her, Cress and Thorne, all with their faces painted in blue and purple. Cinder didn't remember well, but she could have sworn they were going to a festival that night. There were messages from Thorne, telling her that he had definitely found the love of his life— again. Then another one all written with capital letters, saying that he had kissed Cress because they were both drunk and that she definitely wasn't the love of his life. It was from ten minutes ago, and she supposed he was still drunk, since she could barely understand anything; she would type a message tomorrow.

Scarlet had left a message, too, asking how was she.

It took her a while to read every single one of them, because it seemed like people preferred to text her when she couldn't answer. She was laughing because a joke Thorne had sent her hours ago when Kai touched her shoulder so suddenly Cinder jumped, startled, and then sighed in relief.

"What is so funny?" He asked, tilting his head. It made him look like a child, with those enormous black eyes, and she tried not to think about that.

She showed him the phone, and shrugged. He didn't say anything else about it.

"My Dad says he can't wait to meet you, so…"

"Don't make him wait, then," she said, and then started walking toward the doors. She was totally nervous, because she had met parents before, and it had never finished well enough; she always ended up throwing her glass of wine upon the woman, or making a really bad joke and offending the man, or acting weird, or saying something she shouldn't have ever said. She was meeting a man and a woman she had never heard a word of, but they were parents, after all. They would ask about her relationship with Kai...

... and she wouldn't know what to say.

"What are their names?" She asked, hugging herself.

"What?"

"Your parents. What are their names?"

He was confused for a moment. Then he slapped his forehead and blurted out, "Yeah, of course, uhm. My father is Rikan. And my mother is Rosemary. Our last name is Lee."

They crossed the doors, and the wind bit her like a hungry animal. Geez, it was cold outside. Cinder shivered and looked for the car in which she would go. Kai put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer; this time, however, Cinder thanked him silently for the gesture, because in that way he could pass her some corporal warm.

"You are going to be great. My mother said she liked your hair."

Cinder snorted. "How comforting."

Kai laughed, _again_ , and Cinder wanted to punch him, _again._ How could he be so _… normal_ when he was about to lie his parents about something so big like a relationship? She was freaking out, and they weren't even her parents. She let go of his arm and caught his hand. He looked surprised, but didn't say a word.

"There it is, the car," he pointed at a white Mitsubishi and waved at it. When Cinder followed his eyesight, she found the woman Kai had kissed her in front of them, waving back, a bright smile on her face now.

Like a robot, she lifted her hand and moved it, from left to right, from right to left. The woman's— Rosemary's smile brightened more, if it was possible, and the next thing Cinder knew was that they were inside the car, sitting on the backseats. Kai was just beside her, and she was kind of panicking.

No, she was actually panicking.

"Oh well, it's lovely to meet you, Cinder," said Rikan, but she noted that his smile was so forced, like Adri's. "Kai did a great job keeping you in secret."

"And I wonder why, you are gorgeous!" Exclaimed his mother.

Cinder opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came from it. Kai bit his lower lip and she did the same, closing her eyes for a second, trying to clear her mind. She knew this would happen; Rosemary and Rikan weren't aware of anything, nor were Pearl or Adri. She was Kai's fake girlfriend, and she only had to say hello, and it wasn't that difficult, and she was running out of air, and—

"She's so tired," muttered Kai, giving her a peck on the cheek. Cinder looked at him, then at Rikan, whose smile faltered, then at Rosemary, whose smile didn't bright anymore.

"Sorry," Cinder sat a little bit straighter and composed a smile, a real smile. She was meeting her boyfriend's parents, only for a week, and then she would forget them. They were just two adults who believed she was now their future daughter-in-law; she had been through that before, she could do it. "Sorry," she repeated, more confidently, "it's just— I lost my suitcases, you know, and I am a little bit stressed. It's lovely to meet you too, Mr and Mrs Lee."

"Oh!" Exclaimed the woman, cupping her cheek with her hand, her black curls jumping with her. "You can just call me Rosemary, dear."

Cinder opened her mouth to answer, but Rikan snorted and turned around, and he was driving before she could even blink. She looked at Kai, asking without words if that was good or bad, but his expression said everything. Mr Lee didn't like her. At all. She tried to think of something, anything, to say so the man would change his mind about her.

"By the way, Rosemary," she cooed, and the woman—and Kai, but she pretended he wasn't there—stared at her, enchanted. "Kai showed me pics of you, and you were beautiful in them, but— whoa, you are even more so in person!"

Kai squeezed her hand, and Rosemary blushed. "Oh, you don't mean it."

Cinder giggled, "Of course I do," and then she turned her head to see Rikan through the rear-view mirror. He had a poker face. "You are more handsome in person too, Mr Lee."

His lips curled slightly, and Cinder was happy for that; she had a week. The three of them would love her by the end of it. She rested her head on Kai's shoulder, closed her eyes. She was really tired but Rosemary, apparently, wasn't.

"Are you working right now, sweetheart? I bet you are a model."

"Mom, she is not in the—"

"It's okay," she told him, and then, "I'm not a model— no, God, I couldn't be. I'm a mechanic."

Her smile deflated again— this time, Cinder was sure she hasn't said anything she should regret; she didn't like models, and being a mechanic wasn't so bad. She was well paid, and she was friends with the others workers; she met Iko and Thorne there.

But then, when Rosemary muttered something Cinder didn't hear, and she realised that it was the work what disturbed her. She hadn't expected that Kai's girlfriend would be a mechanic, that poor job, where you were always covered in grease. It was definitely not a fancy job, and that family was definitely a fancy one.

"Sorry," whispered Kai in her hear, but by then Cinder had both of her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.

"Tomorrow morning we can go shopping," said Rosemary, but this time she wasn't looking back anymore. "We can buy your girlfriend some cute clothes. It's been so long since I last went shopping!"

Cinder didn't like shopping, but the woman wasn't going to ask for her opinion, so she didn't answer. Kai said something, but she was too tired to hear him. She was thinking of Adri and Pearl, the first one probably asleep, the second probably painting her toe nails. Tomorrow, when neither of them would know anything about Cinder, they definitely weren't going to call; they were going to cheer, for sure, because they were having a Christmas without Cinder.

She was cheering because she would have a Christmas without them, but something didn't feel quite right about it. They were her family, after all; families should be together.

* * *

When they arrived his house, Cinder was asleep; she woke up with her head resting on Kai's shoulder, so she immediately sat straight and looked at his parents, but they were already out of the car. Kai was staring at her like if she had a snake around her neck.

"What?"

He smiled and kissed her cheek again, "You did great. Thanks."

Cinder snorted, loudly. Then covered her mouth with her hand and muttered, "Oh, sorry. Thank goodness your parents are not here, they would've been astonished because I snorted. I'm also a mechanic, sorry for that, too."

Now he looked guilty, and Cinder was proud of herself; she wanted him to feel guilty, because he actually was. If he were her real boyfriend, he should have said something. Cinder was a mechanic, and what? They wouldn't have a functioning car without mechanics. No one would.

But once again, he wasn't guilty at all, because his mother hadn't say anything, just looked away. And Cinder couldn't blame him of his mother's tact, that would be unfair for him. He had said she did great, though, so maybe Rosemary wasn't pissed because of her being a mechanic.

"Sorry," she muttered, softer.

"Don't," he said, looking at her eyes, and Cinder felt so exposed she had to look away. "Stop saying sorry, I was the one who dragged you into this. And I don't even know you."

She didn't say anything, because it was true. But he didn't stop smiling, which actually made her feel more confident; he still liked her a little, and while he liked her, Cinder had nothing to fear. She was there only to convince his parents she was his real girlfriend.

Mr and Mrs Lee didn't have to like her, and she didn't have to like them.

"Okay, let's go. Please, say you have food, please say you have food, ple—"

Kai laughed.

His laugh was going to _kill_ her.

The house was big from the outside, but if you entered… well, it was like a palace. The floor literally shined, so it could be fake wood... maybe real wood; there were a lot of paintings on the walls, and they seemed very expensive. One of them was a pink peach tree blossoming, and Cinder recalled it from a class in high school to be an illustration from Van Gogh. She supposed it was an imitation, but she wasn't entirely sure.

There was a lot of pottery, too; big, colourful, small, with drawings… Cinder wanted to touch every single one of them like a little child, but she kept her hands in the coat's pockets. If she broke something, Kai's parents wouldn't be so kind.

When the hall ended, Cinder found a mirror right in front of her, and she couldn't help but hug herself, since she was so out of tone. Her green coat and her black jeans and her military boots didn't match Kai's white, buttoned shirt and jumper, jeans and shoes. Their hairs were the only thing that matched, since they both had messy, dark hair.

His reflection appeared, sighed, and told her to move if she wanted to eat something.

But Rosemary appeared, too, and said, "Come here, Cinder, I'll lend you pajamas. Or do you sleep with one of Kai's t-shirts? Selene did that, that lovely girl."

Kai started coughing, and Cinder stared at him, not knowing what to do; he was obviously choking because of what his mother had just said, but Cinder could only open her mouth, even though no sound came from it. Again. It was clear now that Rosemary didn't like her, so she was trying to make her jealous.

Ha! What did she think Cinder was? One of those crazy, psychopath, jealous girlfriends? Please. Even if Kai and she were a real couple, she wouldn't be affected by the woman's words. She would trust him too much for that.

But it didn't matter right now. Kai was choking. _That_ mattered.

She leaned on and patted his back, while his mother stared. "Are you okay? Do you want a glass of water?" She asked, resting her knees on the floor, looking at his closed eyes from below. He really was chocking.

"Let's go fetch some water," suggested Rosemary. "This happens all the time, my poor thing. Kai? Kai, sweetheart, sit down and try to get air through your nose. We'll be back in a moment. Come, Cinder."

She didn't really want to leave him alone—she didn't want her fake boyfriend dying before the week passed—but she brushed his cheek with her hand before she stood up and followed Rosemary through long halls until they reached the kitchen which was, too, very big.

Cinder felt really small in comparison of the woman, with her heels and her dress and her long hair. While she walked straight and with grace, Cinder walked a little bit bent and like a dizzy duck. Instead of picking a glass and filling it with water, Rosemary sat on the worktop and stared for a very, very long time at Cinder, who was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Kai is— um. We should get him that glass. I mean—"

"Are you two really dating?" The woman asked, and she looked really dangerous, with that painted eyes and red lips. Cinder gulped. "I don't pretend to sound rude, but… Come on! You seemed really surprised when he kissed you back in the airport. Has he rented you or something?"

"Rented me?" She repeated, astonished, looking wide-eyed at her. She tried to look okay when Rosemary despised her for being a mechanic, she tried to look okay when the woman asked her all that silly questions, but how dare she said something like that? She hadn't done anything to demonstrate she wasn't with Kai... except for that kiss, but he had explained it was because of the loss of her luggage.

She thought Cinder was a prostitute? Oh, she was going to give her a bitchy attitude, indeed.

"Kai didn't rent me, thank you very much. I just wanted to have a good time here, but if you cannot believe the fact that I love your _son_ , and think I am a prostitute, then I can go home. So, if you excuse me," she said, crossing the kitchen, picking up a glass and filling it with water from the sink, then facing Rosemary again, "I am going to bed now. And, yes, I will use one of Kai's t-shirts. Good-night."

Before she left, Cinder turned around, pouted, and whispered, "By the way, it wouldn't matter if I were a prostitute. I'd love him the same."

Then she stormed out of the kitchen, jogging until she found Kai, still sat on the floor; he had a tear streaming down his face, and still coughed a little. Cinder passed him the glass of water and, when he swallowed it, helped him to stand up. He cleared his throat and said, with a raspy voice, "Where's my mother?"

Cinder decided it would be better if she ignored him, so that was what she did. He didn't insist, so she let him guide her through more halls, walls covered with paintings, floors flooded of rugs, and she couldn't stop thinking why Kai didn't have a girlfriend; for all she knew, he was sweet, kind, and rich. When she was in high school, all the girls, including her, would have loved to be with a guy like him; Pearl would die if Cinder told her she was staying with a guy like him.

But then she wondered how his parents would have been with his other girlfriends, and she kind of found an answer. They had probably scared them off.

Like with that Selene. Cinder was sure Rosemary had made her freaking out, so she abandoned Kai right away.

After centuries, he opened a door, and they entered the biggest room Cinder had ever seen; at least four people fitted in the enormous bed, with an enormous white duvet, with an enormous pillow. There was a balcony, or something like that, because she could see the outside through a crystal door, despite they weren't on a first floor. Or a second, for that matter.

There were two more doors; one led to a bathroom, she was sure, but the other… a second bathroom, maybe? Cinder didn't want to ask, since she was too busy trying not to think that there was only one bed. She would sleep on the floor, after all.

Kai sat on the edge of the bed and covered his face with his hands. He was not coughing anymore, but he looked like he did in the airport, destroyed, pissed. Cinder bit her lower lip and decided it would better if she left him and his thoughts alone for a while. It was very late, and her mobile's battery was running out, and she wanted to rest a little bit; if his mother still wanted, which was very possible, given her character, tomorrow Cinder would go shopping with her, which meant there would be a lot of controversy between the two of them.

And, if Cinder was right, Kai was staying with Rikan, which meant his parents were going to ask them both about their relationship.

So they had to make a story.

"I don't know what my mother said," he muttered, his voice muffled through his hands, "but I'm sorry."

She almost smiled. "She thinks you rented me. She exactly said that word. Rented. So now you must pay me." Kai removed his hands from his face and stared at her with wide eyes. "I was joking."

"Jesus," he closed his eyes.

He didn't look like the kind of guy who believed in Jesus. "It doesn't matter to me, really."

"But it matters to me. I can't believe she actually said that." He took off his jumper, and that was the moment Cinder realised she was very hot. Because they were inside. And she was wearing too many clothes.

Not because she was with Kai, obviously.

She took off her coat and left it on the bed, beside him. She sat on the floor, since she didn't want to be beside him; she would be uncomfortable. They didn't know each other, not a little bit. Cinder had only accepted his offer, deal, whatever it was because she didn't want to stay with her stepfamily. Because he had seemed so desperate.

Maybe it had been a mistake, since now a woman she barely knew hated her and her husband couldn't even see her, and that felt pretty bad.

"Well, Cinder," he said now with his normal voice, and his smile was again on his lips. He sat up, and she cupped her face, listening. "Tell me something about you. You are a mechanic, I already know that. What else?"

Oh, that was going to be a very long night.

* * *

Thanks to ** _lunarchroniclesandcockatiels_** for being an amazing beta and thank you for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE.**

In the end, Cinder hadn't slept on the floor, even though she proposed to. When she did, Kai let out a squeak, shook his head, and said, "God, no." He offered her the bed, and after repeating a hundred times he wouldn't feel comfortable using her to cheat his parents _and_ sleeping on the floor, she desisted.

So when she woke up, covered in a very, very soft and warm duvet, Cinder saw him lying on the floor, prone, still sleeping tightly, some blankets over him. He had lent her one of his t-shirts—an enormous, blue one—and that plus her underwear made her feel really comfortable. Cinder wondered why she always slept with pajamas, and decided that, from now on, she would go to sleep dressed like that.

Kai moaned in his sleep, and Cinder chewed her lower lip until she tasted blood.

She tried to sum up every single thing that had happened to her since she arrived New Beijing; she had lost her suitcases, kissed a stranger, made a deal with him so now she was pretending to be his girlfriend, and argued with his mother, who thought, by the way, she was a prostitute.

Oh, and she was sleeping in that stranger's bed now.

And she was starving. Cinder hadn't ate anything since she left the Benoit farm, which was, approximately, twenty-four hours ago— her stomach wouldn't let her forget that. So, quietly, she called, "Kai."

He moaned again and Cinder pinched the bridge of her nose; she didn't want to know what he was dreaming, and if she didn't wake him up soon, she was sure she would end up discovering it. But she didn't want to leave the bed, since she wasn't wearing any pants. _Okay_ , it was comfortable, but she had just met the guy, she didn't want him to see that much of her.

She could throw him the pillow, but that would make Kai shout, and that would alert his parents, which would end up in disaster.

"Kai, wake up," she said, this time louder, but he didn't react. Cinder grunted, picked up the pillow, and threw it to him; if he screamed, she would shush him and tell him to jump in the bed, so his parents wouldn't suspect of anything— it was genius.

Only the pillow hit his face, and he just pushed it away and sighed.

"Come on," Cinder murmured, and she was already setting the duvet aside to slap him personally when she heard voices out of the room. They were muffled because whomever it was, was whispering. The door was shut… but not locked. Kai had said that there wasn't any key. Suddenly, she heard a very feminine voice, and could almost see her face and dark hair through the walls.

Cinder cursed under her breath, because they were definitely his parents.

What were they _doing_?

More confident now, she left the bed, took away the blankets that were covering Kai and jumped over him, trying not to crush his bones in the process. His eyes snapped open, so did his mouth, ready to say something, to ask what the hell was going on, but Cinder closed hers eyelids, putting both of her hands on his chest. She said, "Don't panic," and kissed him.

The time they kissed back in the airport, it hadn't really been a kiss. It had been more like a really enthusiastic peck, but without anything more. Their lips had just touched. This time, though, was totally different; he moaned—it sounded better when he was awake, definitely better—and put one of his hands in the back of her neck, the other on her hip, pulling her closer. Cinder instantly opened her mouth, and his tongue entered there— she gasped. One of her hands flew to his face, brushing his cheek, and she heard herself groaning.

The door burst open, and Cinder heard voices, but didn't quite identify them; his parents, she recalled. That was why she was kissing him, why she had jumped over him when he was sleeping. She barely remembered that she was on her underwear, with a really huge t-shirt that didn't belong to her. Rikan was freaking out, sure, and Rosemary was probably screaming internally.

They broke the contact, searching for air, and _whoa._ Kai's hands were now on her bare hips, her flesh burning hot wherever he touched. His lips had little red spots— of blood, she guessed, although she didn't know if it was hers or his. Their eyes met, and Cinder couldn't stop staring, strangely wanting more, more, more of that whatever it was.

It was probably because he was the first guy she had kissed in almost half a year.

"I told you he wasn't sleeping on the floor," muttered someone, and Kai tilted his head to see his parents; it was Rikan the one who spoke. He looked at his wife, Rosemary, and Cinder noticed she was ecstatic, staring at Cinder and Kai.

Yeah, she was surely screaming internally.

"Ehm," Kai cleared his throat, and everyone stared at him. "Morning, you guys, but— um." He put a strand of Cinder's hair behind her ear, gently, and Rikan sighed and went away. Their eyes were fixed on each other's gazes, and she wasn't so sure she could keep herself from kissing Kai again if they stayed like that a minute longer.

"We're going shopping in half an hour, so I hope you are ready by then, Cinder," announced Mrs Lee, then abandoned the room, closing the door behind her. Her shouts were heard even without her in front of them.

Cinder rolled to her side, covering herself with blankets. Kai grinned. She blushed.

Who was this guy? She had never felt like that with anyone; she didn't like him, but she obviously felt some kind of attraction for him—not any romantic kind, for sure—but he wasn't even that handsome. _Breathe_ , she told herself, _you have more important things to do._

 _Like prepare mentally and physically to go shopping with Devil One,_ said one voice in her head.

 _Like eat,_ said other.

She decided to follow the second voice, so she stood up, leaving Kai without any explanation, and locked herself in the bathroom for a long, long time. She brushed her teeth with a new brush, combed her hair and washed her face, then stared at herself in the mirror. Purple bags were behind her eyes and her lips were the worst lips ever, with dried blood and covered with saliva.

A little devastated, Cinder sat on the toilet, crossing her legs, and breathed for a few minutes; she didn't really know why she felt that way, like she was sinking in the big basin. It maybe was a panic attack, but she doubted it. Or maybe it was anxiety coming from what she had just done, since she wasn't used to kiss boys in front of their parents.

But her hands were shaking, and that was never good sign.

"Cinder?" Kai knocked on the door. She gulped, and tried to get up, but her body didn't respond. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes," she answered, a tiny voice coming from her lungs.

She heard a tap, so he may have rested his head against the door, maybe his body. Or maybe he was sat on the floor against the door, she didn't know. She didn't care. "I'm sorry for that, even though I didn't know you were doing it until you kissed me." He coughed, awkwardly. "But you could have just waken me up, you know."

She let out a sour laugh. "Well, I _tried,_ but you sleep like the dead."

He giggled. "You don't have to go shopping with my mother, if you don't want to. I'll understand it, of course. God, no one would accept that offer but you."

"That's because I'm a really cool girlfriend."

"Winter would go with you, too. She's like part of the family, and is very sweet. I told her about you— being my girlfriend, I mean. She thinks we're a real couple, too."

 _Of course_ , she wanted to say. But she didn't, obviously, and got up; her hands were not shaking anymore. At least they weren't shaking with that much force, and she was a little more confident now; if she was not alone with Rosemary, then the woman wouldn't treat her like a bad mechanic, like if she was less than her and her wealthy family because she wasn't rich. And if Winter was as sweet as Kai said, then maybe she defended Cinder when Mrs Lee was mean.

Unlocking the door, now dressed with the same clothes she had been wearing yesterday, Cinder smiled at Kai, his smile coming back rapidly to his face.

She would be the beam of sun his mother wanted her to be.

* * *

Cinder tried to walk with the blood red heels Rosemary had chosen for her, but while Winter did it like a princess, Cinder had to hold the shelf the heels were so she wouldn't fall. Her knees hurt, since the carpet of Kai's room had been too raspy, and the woman was throwing her daggers with her eyes.

"Try to walk straighter, dear," she told Cinder, even though she had been trying to walk straight for what seemed like ages now. She let go of the shelf and moved a foot forward, then the other, and she was making it, she was making it, she mas maki—

She stumbled and fell off, her knees screaming in pain, but they weren't as hurt as her ego.

Winter got rid of her heels and kneed down to see if Cinder was okay, and she welcomed the gesture with a smile; Winter was the sweetest person she had ever met, like Kai had said, and Cinder knew Cress, who was pretty sweet, too. And she was so gorgeous Cinder was beginning to ask herself if she had escaped from a fairy tale. Her chocolate skin and brown eyes and curly, dark hair were dreamy, and if it wasn't for the scars she had on her face, she would be perfect.

"It's okay, I didn't know how to wear those killing machines when I put on the first ones I tried. It's only practice, don't worry," she smirked, and Cinder was grateful that she was there with them.

Plus, she had been right; Rosemary hadn't say anything about her relationship with Kai, or said anything mean to her. But it might be because she was seeing Cinder suffering with those killing machines, like Winter had called them, and that was enough for her.

"Cinder, sweetie, we should buy you the dress first. Then we'll keep looking for high heels," said Rosemary, making a fuss and leaving the shop. Winter sighed, mimicking her, and then left, too.

Cinder got her phone from the pocket of her coat and noticed it didn't have battery. With her phone dead, she didn't have any manner to communicate with Thorne or Scarlet or Iko, unless Kai lent her a charger; she hadn't seen his parents with mobiles, and he was there only for a week, too, so it was very possible he had only brought one charger.

Rosemary called her and Cinder, after sighing, followed them.

The next stop was a dress shop, and Cinder couldn't even see what was in front of her nose because she was carrying, at least, eight dresses at the same time; Winter was leading her, grabbing her arm. Rosemary had insisted that they needed to try as many clothes as possible so they could compare them and buy the best one. The woman was super convinced that, as her future daughter-in-law, she had to buy her clothes. But… well, the dresses she had chosen weren't Cinder's style; she had seen a lot of simple, cute dresses, but Rosemary had said they weren't appropriate for such an event like Christmas.

(Cinder decided it would be better if she didn't tell her that she didn't wear dresses in Christmas.)

Anyway, she was carrying now a black, shiny, short dress without sleeves, the same one, but purple, a pink one with white spots that she despised, a hyper short turquoise one with long, lose sleeves, one that was very long, orange with red flowers, one that was more appropriated for a funeral, one that was green and yellow and two red dresses that were almost the same.

Rosemary obliged her to put on every single one.

Cinder picked up her hair in a messy ponytail, like she usually did, and entered the changing rooms, which were big. Thank goodness, because she was going to need a lot of space.

It was when she was in her underwear, trying to find where the hole for the head was in one of the dresses, when Winter opened the curtains and burst inside; Cinder had screamed, only if the other hadn't put a hand over her mouth. "I found this one for you. It is prettier than those dresses." She let a beautiful, long, red romper above the dresses and smiled. "By the way, I think Rose is gonna ask you about Kai, so… prepare yourself."

Cinder gulped, but before she could say anything, Winter was gone. She looked at the red romper, then at the black, funeral dress, and dropped the second one with the other monstrosities the woman had chosen for her. She picked up the romper and smiled at her reflection in the little mirror.

She _was_ ready.

Rosemary narrowed her eyes when she saw Cinder with the romper that she obviously hadn't chosen. It was really beautiful, and Cinder would totally wear it; the legs were loose and it was a bustier romper, so she felt very feminine. Winter beamed, just like Kai when he laughed.

"Well," muttered Rosemary, walking slowly around her, like a tiger would do with its prey. "I didn't pick… this, but it kind of suits you, so I'll buy it for you, if you like it too. We would have to purchase high heels, though…"

She was trying to pull Cinder back so she would end up hating that romper, but she wouldn't change her mind, how could she? Winter grinned, Cinder trying to hide her smile. She said, "I agree with you. I choose this, please, Mrs Lee."

Later, when she bought the red heels Cinder had tried before, the three of them went to a little café so they could talk some more about her being in love with Kai, like Winter had said. It was more than obvious that Rosemary still didn't believe her, even though she had seen her and Kai kissing very passionately that morning.

Cinder still blushed whenever she thought about it.

Taking a sip from her cappuccino, Cinder stared at the woman, waiting for her questions, trying to look charming. She was already charming, so she didn't have to try anything. After swallowing a bite of her cupcake, Rosemary said, "I am sure you and my son have a beautiful story, Cinder. Could you tell it to us?"

Cinder smirked, because she had prepared for that; she had told Kai about her life and vice versa, and then they had made a story of how their relationship had begun, since he reassured her his mother would ask about that. At least they stayed up late for something; Cinder was exhausted. She lifted her chin a little bit, and composed a smile, like the proud girlfriend she was pretending to be.

"I was in my in garage, actually," she said, her smile brightening. "His car was making some weird noises, so he brought it to the best mechanic in New Beijing, a.k.a. me." While Winter muffled a giggle, Rosemary grimaced. Cinder decided to ignore it, as she usually did. "He was surprised, since he thought Linh Cinder was a grown man, but that didn't stop him from flirting with me—"

"Oh, he's a sucker when he flirts," interrupted Winter.

Cinder grinned, "Yeah, but I'm not really good at it either, so— well, you know."

For a second, she forgot the rest of the story, seeing the woman's frown; Kai had said his mother was scary, but Cinder hadn't truly believed him until now. She was statuesque, like Cinder's words didn't mean anything to her, like she wasn't really important— she wasn't, indeed, but Rosemary didn't know it yet.

She kept talking when Winter pleaded her to, words coming from her throat like lightning bolts. "He asked me to go dinner with him once his car was fixed—it wasn't that bad, but I said so, and that way I saw him more, almost every day. A friend of mine, Thorne, met him and they became friends right away; he always teased me about Kai and, finally, I recognised I was falling for him."

This time, Rosemary almost, _almost,_ smiled, her lips quivering just a little bit, her eyes shining more than they usually did. Cinder felt better than she should have felt, but she pushed the feeling away. She was just trying to impress her because of Kai, not her. She would be out of the woman's life in six days, so everything she said would be forgotten.

Now that she thought about it, Rosemary was really going to hate her when, after that week, Kai and she were separating, living their lives like they did before meeting each other.

"We were really close for a while and then… well. He invited me here. I am really grateful— I mean, I met you two, and Mr Lee, and you all are fantastic." Cinder paused, dramatically, and ended, "I'm so grateful to be able to say I'm part of this family."

And— there it was.

 _There it was._

Rosemary's smile, bright and big and beautiful. And it was Cinder who had made it happen.

"You are such a lovely girl," said the woman, and Cinder could tell that she really meant it. At least, a little bit of it; she looked at Winter, who was giving her a thumbs up when Rosemary wasn't looking. "But you should practice with those heels before Christmas night, if you want Kai to be as romantic as he has ever been. You have only one day."

She didn't answer that, since she wasn't sure what Rosemary meant. Cinder didn't understand what was the connection between heels and a guy loving a girl, but she had just took a smile from the woman; she wouldn't dare risking it because of a silly question. So they kept eating, and Cinder was kind of disappointed when Rosemary didn't ask any more questions.

Because _come on_ ; Cinder and Kai had been practising and improving their fake story all the night for… that? Just a stupid question about their meeting? Literally anyone could have answered that, design a story like the one Cinder had told.

When they got up and went to the car, however, her instincts told her that Rosemary still wasn't as kind as she had pretended to be.

* * *

Kai was starting to feel anxious. Not only because Cinder, that cute girl that had seemed so helpless in the airport, was alone with his Mom and crazy Winter, but because _he_ was alone with his father.

He loved him very much, as his parent, but… well, he wasn't the best Dad ever, even though Kai had written cards that said so when he was a child. He kept telling himself that Rikan just wanted to have a little chit-chat with his only son, that he wanted to congratulate him for the woman he had brought home, that he wasn't going to give him _the_ talk— whatever _that_ talk was about.

Rikan had given him a lot of talks, so Kai wouldn't be surprised. At least, he hoped so.

"Kai," he said, deadly serious, bending his body to rest his hands on his son's shoulders. Kai swallowed the piece of cake he had been chewing to look back at him, serious too, but not as much as his father. "I've seen you are really dating that girl, Cinder."

Kai wanted to laugh at his comment. Was he serious? He wasn't dating Cinder—though after her jumping over him and kissing him like _that_ , Kai wasn't so sure anymore, to be honest—but he had said so, and the most logical thing would have been that both his mother and father had believed him. But no, God, how could that be? They weren't normal parents, and they would always remind that to their son, no matter what.

His fake relationship was really screwed.

Cinder would have dumped him a long time ago if she had met his parents before.

But they weren't friends—could he even say that they were friends?—until yesterday, so… whatever.

"Yeah, thanks for noticing, Dad."

Kai wasn't very sure where his anger came from, but he knew that it was directed towards that man and his wife. Basically Cinder was a stranger to him, but he felt that he knew her since a very long time; she wasn't like the other girlfriends—if he could call them that—he had had. She was cute and rude at the same time, confident and shy, good and bad. Cinder was cold and hot at the very same time, and Kai didn't even realise how much that surprised him.

When he had talked to her back in the airport, he would never had imagined how much that girl would piss his parents.

And there was what happened that morning; Kai didn't doubt her, but she hadn't been all right at all. He was glad that she had said yes to his deal, if he could call it that, but he didn't want her to suffer from anything because of him. He would never forget himself.

And locking yourself in a bathroom wasn't a good sign.

"Your mother had talked to her, I guess. She seems like a good girl but Kai, a _mechanic_?"

That pissed _him_ off; she was a mechanic, geez, not an alcoholic. Rolling his eyes, he said, "I like her. We met when she fixed my car, actual—"

"Don't care," Rikan took a sip from his green tea and waved his hand, looking at someone behind Kai. He turned around and saw his Mom, Winter and Cinder, the last two talking cheerfully. He smiled; he had been right, Cinder and Winter had got along very well.

They were carrying a lot of plastic, colourful bags, and Kai was worried what his mother had obliged Cinder to choose something she didn't like. But the sheepish smile she gifted him made him shiver from feet to head.

"We'll give you some time to be alone," commented his father, cleaning his mouth with a napkin, but Kai really hadn't ears for him, since he was so concentrated waving back at Cinder. "And, Kai?"

"Yeah?"

"We're not that bad."

* * *

Thanks to ** _lunarchroniclesandcockatiels_** for being an amazing beta and thank you for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR.**

Kai had led her to a park.

With her new black boots and yellow beanie and white jumper, Cinder really wanted to go outside, wanted people to see her and her fancy clothes, since she had always worn second handed dresses and jeans and shirts. Now that she was with a guy wearing, like her, luxurious clothes, she felt like a movie star; she was too excited to even notice that Kai's parents were following them.

Well, maybe not that much.

She giggled and leaned over Kai, interlocking her arm with his. He looked at her, confused, so Cinder murmured, "You do realise that your parents are following us, right? By the way, have you notice my new clothes? Shopping with your mom wasn't that bad, after all."

Kai gasped, but Cinder pretended to be so in to him and kissed his cheek, making him blush. She liked the way he reacted whenever she did something romantic, like he wasn't prepared for it, like if the fact that they were not really dating pursued him at all times. It was cute, though, if Cinder had to speak the truth. All the men she had met would have been pleased with the contact of every woman, it didn't matter if they were in a relationship or not.

Except for Ze'ev. He was simply a sweetheart.

"I know, I know. They do it _every time_ I start dating someone new," he said, devastated, moving his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. Like he did that morning. The thought of her against his body made her feel a little bit anxious, because it was all a lie. Cinder was aware that she had signed for that— not literally, but still. She was aware, too, that they would have to kiss and cuddle and do all that lovey-dovey stuff, but it felt weird, anyway. "They would be gone soon, I hope."

"Okay."

"They do it when whenever they don't like my girlfriends," he explained. "Quite normal, this time, given that you are not my girlfriend."

Muttering an almost audible 'Oh', Cinder kept on walking, looking at everything. She wished she had more eyes, because there was just so much to see, to feel; she lived far away from there, in a flat, isolated from nature. And even though it was winter, trees still had leaves, green and yellow and brown. It was beautiful, and she found herself wondering what it would be to live right there, surrounded by life and nature.

"I like that beanie," he said, and it was so sudden Cinder almost stopped walking. She smiled to herself, glad that he hadn't ignored the comment she had made of her new clothes. "I couldn't imagine you wearing a beanie when we met, but a helmet."

"A helmet," she repeated, sardonically, lifting her head. "Hey, that's rude."

"I'm joking," Cinder punched him, playfully, and he pushed her aside, held her hand high and made her spin. She burst out a laugh and let him keep on with the spinning. She was probably going to end up dizzy, but even Cinder had to admit she was having fun— and couples did that; he had seen Ze'ev making Scarlet spin endless times, and it normally finished with kisses. Finally, she hugged Kai so she wouldn't fall, and it felt so natural she pushed him away before Cinder realised what was happening.

She didn't let go of his hand so his parents wouldn't suspect anything, though. Through the corner of her eye she looked behind them, and— finally. Mr and Mrs Lee were gone. Kai followed her gaze and sighed in relief when he didn't visualize them either. His smile brightened a lot and he dropped her hand, Cinder staring at her limb like a dead weight.

"Thank God," he said, and was so happy to see his parents gone that Cinder couldn't help but smile. Not like him, because no one could ever smile like that guy did, but still. He stared at Cinder and seemed like he would kiss her right there, right now; she stepped back. "Really, how in hell could you enjoy going shopping with my mother?"

She shrugged, an awkward silent falling between the two of them. When they were pretending to be together, it was all smiles and charisma and love, but when they weren't, they acted like the strangers they were. The slightly attraction she had felt towards him—all purely physical, obviously—was gone, and he was still the not-so-handsome creep that had kissed her against her will in the airport. And she could tell he felt the same, by the way he bit his lip, trying to think of a decently subject to talk about.

Cinder was doing the same, nonetheless.

Just when she was about to talk about the weather and trees and all the stuff she had thought when they reached the park, he asked nonchalantly, "Do you fancy a smoothie? It's cold, but I know just the place."

So now they were sat on a little, cute terrace, still silent. Kai had picked up for her, so now Cinder was drinking an awful pear smoothie, while he happily drank from his strawberry one. They hadn't said a word, and she was praying for something to happen. She hadn't been looking good, though, because the waitress had asked if something was wrong. Then she left a note asking if she needed help from Kai.

That didn't happen in the movies she saw. If she were in a movie, a hundred things would have happened to them already; a lot of dramatic, lovely, interesting things.

And she wouldn't been drinking a pear smoothie.

But of course things weren't occurring to them. She was Cinder. Good luck was a term foreign to her ears.

She took a sip from her glass, and couldn't help but grimace. Kai raised his eyebrows towards her and say, "You don't like it."

It wasn't a question, and Cinder couldn't lie. She shot him an apologetic smile. "I hate pear, actually."

His reaction was priceless. He was drinking, so he choked and started to cough, just like in his house. Cinder rolled her eyes and moved her chair so they would be closer and patted his back. It was almost funny, the fact that they always ended up like that, and they had only known each other for _two_ days. She was a really bad girlfriend. "Take air through your nose, let it out through your mouth. There, there."

He stopped coughing and looked at her with wide eyes. "If you don't like pear, why didn't you stop me when I ordered it to you?"

Good question. Cinder didn't have an answer, so she bit her lower lip instead. Now he was the one rolling his eyes. "Don't do that," he said, but sounded more like an order. "You're damaging your lips."

"I'm not," but it wasn't the truth, since she was already tasting blood. Kai was smiling triumphantly, which annoyed her to the point Cinder punched his arm and separated her chair again, avoiding his hand, Kai hitting air. "Ha ha!" She laughed, sticking her tongue at him. Kai muttered something Cinder didn't hear, so she pouted at him and, with a very high-pitched voice, muttered back, "What? The big baby is sad because I bite my lips?"

That didn't make any sense, wasn't even funny, but he side-smiled and exclaimed, "You'll see!" and got up. Cinder screamed in surprise and got up too, facing him. Their smoothies were now forgotten, other clients staring at them, like if they were a spectacle; Cinder didn't really pay any attention to them, since if she did, Kai would surely do something to her.

"And you're a hypocrite," she whispered, getting closer, her mouth touching his ear, "because you bite your lips, too."

She separated almost immediately, avoiding his hands again. From her mouth left a sound between a laugh and a scream and she was running away from Kai before he even realised what was happening. He buffed and chased her, shouting and screaming and laughing, and for the first time there Cinder felt really good without pretending, without any crazy parents pestering her, without kissing a stranger.

Trying to run as fast as the wind, Cinder almost jumped over a poodle, his owner cursing her, and she couldn't help but laugh higher, run faster. She heard Kai calling her name, but she didn't stop her race. With trees passing by her sides at the speed of light, Cinder only capturing their greenness, redness, brownness, their trunks, and her own self, splurging life wherever she walked.

But as she already knew, Kai, with his longer legs, just a few inches taller that her, reached Cinder in the matter of seconds. His arms spurred around her waist, lifting her of the floor and turning her around again. Cinder bent her knees and put her hands over his, attempting to remove his grip on her, but it seemed impossible. She cried out but he wouldn't let her go.

Seconds, minutes, hours passed and she was still trapped, with his belly pressed against her back, warming her, and she was beginning to feel harried by him when Kai pressed his lips to her ear, his breath touching gently the lobe. Only later she did realise she had done that before, so he was imitating her.

Kai was still panting from their race.

He only breathed for a while when suddenly he whispered, "God, you are fast."

Inevitably, she exploded laughing, her whole body contorting; she had expected him to say something mysterious, hilarious, maybe adorable. Not something stupid like that. She was fast, but he was faster. There was nothing weird in that. So she laughed and laughed and laughed and Kai, with his arms still around her laughed too, that rarely cute sound she was beginning to like.

An idea crossed her mind, and using all her willpower, Cinder said, "Let go of me. Last opportunity."

Kai stared at her blankly, the image of doubt embodied on his face. "Or what?"

"Oh, you poor, little thing," she pouted before she stopped using her legs, her body almost falling to the ground if he hadn't been holding her. Kai grunted and tightened his grip on her, Cinder feeling her ribs crushing beneath his arms. She _oomphed_ , but didn't do anything about it. Kai lifted her a little bit, and then…

Then they fell together.

He let go of her, at least.

Some people asked if they were okay, if they needed any help, and Cinder only stared at them with her cheeks burning red, answering that she was perfectly fine, that Kai was dying soon. He, on the other side, was laughing, actual _guffaws_ , sounding sometimes like a pig. Now she was surprised; this laugh wasn't cute or adorable, this laugh was terrible. It even frightened her.

It was so real, though.

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, looking at him like if Kai was a rare animal—which wasn't a lie, after all. He put a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle the _sounds_ that were coming from it, and Cinder smirked. "What the hell are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?"

"Shut up," he tried to punch her arm, but failed again.

She got up and a little girl stared at her wide-eyed as she passed by. Cinder attempted to smile so she wouldn't look like a creep and the girl giggled, waved at her and went away. She was trying to figure out what just happened when Kai brushed his thumb against her lips. Cinder hadn't notice that he had stood up, so she jumped away when she felt his touch. He just smiled and showed her his finger, red with blood; she passed her own over her lips and they were, indeed, bloody.

She licked them without looking at him, although Cinder knew his eyes were fixed on her.

"Stop looking at me," she spit, when there was no more blood to be seen. Kai wasn't laughing anymore, but his smile said everything he wanted to speak. "Your lips are bleeding, too," she lied so he would go paranoid, too.

"You liar," he answered, and fetched her beanie, which was a few meters away; Cinder hadn't realised she had lost it. He put it on her head again with a sided smile and said, "Perfect again. Well, do you want another smoothie? One without pear?"

"Thank you, but no thank you. I still have the pear in my throat. Ugh."

Kai rolled his eyes, stroking his own hair, staring at her _again_. "What do you want to do? It's early, and I presume you don't wanna go home already."

She shook her head, her ponytail hitting her in the face; Cinder looked around, but there were no more people staring at them like if they were idiots. Now people were just staring at them with curiosity in their gleaming eyes, like if they were going to do another stupid thing soon.

But Kai and Cinder just kept walking, hearing everyone else but the other, basically because they were _not_ talking. Like before, that awkward silence was surrounding them. It was more awkward now, since the spectacle they had just had, and Cinder despised it; she wasn't a chatty person, but she didn't like quietness, it made her uncomfortable.

So, quietly, she said, "Don't hate me for this—"

"How could I hate you?" Kai interrupted, not looking at her while he talked. "I love you, silly."

Cinder knew he was kidding, fulfilling his role as fake boyfriend, but his words gave her goose bumps, because except for Thorne—who was a massive jerk—it had been a long time since someone had said that words to her, _I love you_. Not her stepmother, not her stepsister, no one close to her. And Kai was joking, she kept telling herself that, but Cinder couldn't help the tickling in her stomach.

"As I was saying," she muttered, interlocking her arm with his again, "don't hate me, but… well, why don't you have a girlfriend?" Noticing his curious look and his raised eyebrow, Cinder put a hand over his mouth before he could complain and clarified, "Don't get me wrong, but you are cute and kind of funny. You are rich. Except for your creepy parents, you are practically perfect. _Not_ for me," she shot him a glare and let go of his mouth, Kai strangely quiet.

Maybe she had offended him and now he hated her, despite what he had said.

"You think I'm perfect?" He asked, a mischievous grin on his face; Cinder rolled her eyes and punched his arm. "I'm going to end up with a bruise."

" _Practically_ perfect," Cinder repeated. "And you're not my type, sorry."

"Whatever," he snapped, ruffling her hair, leaving it messier than it already was. Cinder grunted when he said, "I had a girlfriend not so long ago, you know; we were together for three years or so, I think. She was, ehm—"

"Selene," she guessed.

His eyes were almost closed, his gaze on the floor. "Yeah. She was pretty awesome, a little like you, I suppose."

Kai was not beaming anymore, and his smile had disappeared long ago, so Cinder presumed it was a sad story, his and Selene's. She searched for his hand and held it tightly, trying to comfort him, even if it was just a little; she couldn't help but feel pity for him, since she had a sad story, too— not a love one, but still sad.

"She was my soulmate, I'm sure. When Selene met my parents, she wasn't afraid," his smile appeared again, but it was not a happy smile, but a sarcastic one. Forced. "Well, um— can we talk about other thing? I—"

"Of course."

Cinder was still curious about this Selene, even though she agreed to change the subject; she wanted to know what had happened to her relationship with Kai, since he had said she was his _soulmate_. It was a very strong word, that one, and Cinder kept wondering and wondering and wondering what could he—or she—have done to end it. He was devastated, and it had been three years, so it was probably Selene who had put a final dot there.

It didn't really mattered to her _who_ , but _why_.

She was fake-dating him; if Kai didn't trust her enough to say it, his mother would. Cinder had known her only for a day, but she was aware of the woman's capability to talk about things like that. Rosemary had told Cinder that Selene slept with Kai's t-shirt. And she had told her a lot of funny stories about baby Kai when they were drinking coffee and eating pastries.

So Cinder didn't say anything else, nor did he, and soon they were drinking smoothies again.

This time, both of them were drinking watermelon smoothies.

Cinder, now quiet, thought about everything he had said, including the girlfriend thing. It was not her business, not at all, but she was curious. So very curious, and she couldn't help but wonder what Selene did wrong. Because Kai said she was his soulmate, but nothing about him being her soulmate, so it was probably that she didn't love him the way he did. Maybe Selene had abandoned him. Maybe she had just broke up with Kai.

And thinking again about asking her mother, or letting her tell it to Cinder— it didn't felt quite right. It was Kai's story, so it was Kai's decision to let it out or to keep it to himself.

It was all stupid; she was leaving in six days.

She wouldn't see him ever again.

"So," Cinder murmured, lifting her head and searching for his eyes, lost in obliviousness, "how does your family celebrate Christmas?"

"Ehm," Kai babbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You are going to, um—"

"Cinder, dear!" Shouted someone, and when she looked for the person who had called her, she couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes because _of course_ it was Rosemary. She trotted towards them, her heels tapping against the street, Rikan following her. He seemed bored, though. "Finally, I found you two lovebirds. Well—" she interrupted herself, fussed and accommodated Cinder's hair. "It wasn't difficult, since the spectacle you organised back there."

Kai gave her a panicked look, and Cinder knew what he meant. They had been following them nonstop, so they might have heard them while talking about… everything. From the part where he said she wasn't his real girlfriend to the part where they talked about him _not_ having a girlfriend. She would be terrified if she were Kai.

But Cinder wasn't there to be terrified, but to help him with his façade. So she shoot him a reassurance look and said, "That's what lovebirds do, I guess."

Rosemary caught a strand of her hair and pulled harder that it was necessary, but Cinder managed to maintain composure. "We were just fooling around, you know."

"Of course," the woman said.

"It's going to rain," interrupted Rikan, not looking at Kai, but Cinder. He gave her a smile, and the girl almost collapsed; Rosemary didn't like her, but at least her husband did. A little? "We've come to say that it's raining, so we were going to a restaurant and we're asking ourselves if you two wanted to come. We invite."

He might like Cinder, but he said that last sentence with resent, like if she couldn't pay her own meals; Rosemary hugged him, and Cinder felt like she did it only to show how proud she was of his words.

Cinder wanted to act bitchy more than ever.

"I would be pleased, thank you very much," she answered, Kai still panicking. Cinder kicked his shin beneath the table and Kai jumped on his chair. His parents stared at him, blankly, then at Cinder, but she was already smiling. "And I'm sure he would be pleased, too."

"Yes," he muttered, then raising his voice, "We would like it very much."

Rosemary applauded. "Let's go then. I know just the place."

It reminded Cinder so much of Kai she got goose bumps, but she didn't stop smiling, like Kai did in the airport; she sure was looking like a creepy, now. She was looking just like him now, for sure, and it had only been a days since they met.

Cinder shook her head and tried to focus. She was eating with Kai's parents.

Tonight, she was going to be her best self.

* * *

Thanks to ** _lunarchroniclesandcockatiels_** for being an amazing beta and thank you for reading! Reviews are always appreciated! Oh, and I wanted to tell you guys that I just started school, so I'm not going to be able to write as much as I used to, so updates are going to take a while, I hope you understand!


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE.**

When she thought about rich people in restaurants, Cinder thought about fancy restaurants, full of classy drinks, expensive meals and beautiful decorations. But this was way much better.

When Cinder entered that restaurant, she discovered a whole new world. She didn't remember the name of the place—she hadn't even looked for it—but it was the fanciest restaurant she had ever been in. The decorations were not only beautiful, but shiny and marvellous. There were little lanterns in each table, blue and white tablecloths with silver anchors embroidered on them, bright white crockery, a thousand spoons and forks and knives. Cinder didn't even know why she would need two forks and another two knives.

People were wearing clothes that were more expensive than Cinder's flat, all types of dresses and tuxedos and skirts and t-shirts and heels. All of them seemed to be staring at her, some curious, some smiley, and Cinder felt like she didn't belong there. Because she didn't. She was dressed with jeans and a jumper and boots and a yellow beanie when she should be dressed with a long dress and high heels.

Cinder was out of place, and she didn't know what to do to fit in a little bit more, to be more like the fancy people eating and drinking there, rich and charismatic and used to that type of places. But… taking a second glance, she realised that she really didn't want to be like them; she had a fantastic—kind of—life without being rich or eating in fancy restaurants. And the people in there looked seriously bored. Some were staring dumbfounded at their splendid nails, while others were scrolling through something on their phones, life if what were there was way more interesting than their partners. And then there were those who were scrunching their faces and tingling their fingers in an attempt to make their children stop crying.

"Oh, I love the tuna here," commented Rosemary, happily, bursting Cinder's bubble.

Cinder managed to smile. When she opened her mouth to answer, Rosemary turned around to talk with her husband. Kai breathed a long sigh and took her hand, giving it a squeeze; it wasn't very comforting, to be honest, but she kept her thoughts to herself and only herself.

Then her stomach started doing somersaults and Cinder had to grab Kai's shoulder to steady herself. He looked confused, but didn't complain.

Cinder _was_ confused. Suddenly, it felt like her stomach had decided to throw a party, and it seemed like she was not invited. A waitress led them to a table and, when Cinder took a seat, as gracefully as she could, the cramp went away only to came harder moments later.

"Oh, look! They have swordfish!"

Cinder didn't quite catch the words, but she nodded anyway, trying to follow their conversation. Her belly turned upside down, and Kai leaned toward her, but Cinder pushed him away and smiled, though she was sure it looked more like she was grimacing.

"Are you okay?" Kai whispered into her hear.

She nodded again. If she kept nodding like that, her head would fall off her neck.

Rosemary was still talking to the waitress that had showed them their table. Cinder realised that she hadn't gone away, only that she had been too concentrated on acting normal she hadn't notice. Come on, what was happening with her now? Couldn't she have a bit of luck while she was with Kai's parents?

The waitress asked for the drinks, and before Cinder had time to open her mouth, Rosemary said, "We all would drink wine, please. The most expensive you have."

Cinder had to use all her willpower to _not_ roll her eyes again. She liked drinking alcohol, but she despised wine even more than she hated pear; it always made her feel sick to her stomach, and it was scrambled enough for her to throw something else there. She didn't want to vomit in front of the Lees.

She didn't say anything of this, of course.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?"

Cinder looked at Kai, raising her eyebrows. "What?"

"My mother had just asked you what do you want to eat," Kai mumbled, smiling his most charming smile. He was trying to look completely fine, but Cinder could tell that he, too, was nervous. And she understood him; she was acting weird when she was supposed to be charming, too.

Cinder bit her lower lip and tried to clear her brain. She was Kai's girlfriend. She had to be perfect, stable and so in love.

So, brightening her smile all she could, telling her brain to stop thinking about the cramp in her stomach, Cinder lifted her chin and answered, "I don't know what is on the menu, but I am a vegetarian, so… a salad, I think. Or noodles with vegetables, I don't know. Maybe pasta."

Well, she had managed to say it all without vomit, which was a big achievement, but unlike her, Rosemary, Rikan and Kai seemed disappointed. They were looking at Cinder like if she had grown another head. Rosemary opened her mouth, as if to say something, but shut it again. Kai closed his eyes. Rikan looked like he was going to laugh. Cinder was sure that all she said was completely normal, but when Kai rested his hand on her tight and squeezed it—which, by the way, was super uncomfortable—she started to doubt.

 _God help her;_ there wasn't anything she could say so Rikan and Rosemary would like her? Anything at all?

"Cinder," said Rosemary, gravely. Rikan had put his hand over his mouth so his smile wouldn't be that noticeable. She had only said she was a vegetarian! What was so disappointing about that? Were they meat-lovers, or something? "This is a fish restaurant, dear. Only… fish."

"Oh, crap," exclaimed Kai, tapping his hand against his forehead. Cinder wanted to die right there so she wouldn't see what he was going to do, because if there was something she knew about him was that he didn't know how to act when things turned out wrong.

Well, he was good at improvising, but not a very good actor.

Rosemary's jaw hung open, while Rikan moved his hand to cover his entire face. Cinder was sure that he was going to burst out of laugh at any second. He laughed, indeed, behind his hand, but Rosemary hit his arm and then looked at Kai like she was going to bite him. Cinder, however, could have turned invisible; for once, no one was really paying attention to her… not that she wasn't glad.

But it was so uncanny, anyway, seeing them like that.

"I forgot this restaurant only serves fish. I'm sorry, Cinder," Kai finally said, grimacing. Rosemary clucked her tongue, and Rikan seemed like he was watching a very funny movie. "But I'm sure that if we ask for a salad, they would bring us one."

"Sure," muttered Cinder, mostly because she didn't want cause more of a scene. "I'm not hungry, anyway, so a salad would be enough."

It was the most awkward meal Cinder—and, by his looks, Kai—had ever had. His parents didn't stop talking in whispers, and she had a feeling that they were arguing about her being vegetarian— well, _that_ she didn't know, but they _were_ arguing. Rosemary didn't stop waving her hand in the air while Rikan only brushed his fingers through his hair and mad exasperated noises. Cinder could tell that he wanted to be anywhere but there.

And Kai was staring at them as if they were a tennis match, moving his head from right to left, right to left. He stared at her once or twice, unspoken words floating between them in the air, but when she thought he would say something, Kai only sighed and turned again to his parents. Cinder felt awkward there; she didn't dare look at them, since the less thing she wanted was them noticing that she was there and that it was the best opportunity they had to ask her about her personal life. So she fidgeted with the napkin on her lap, trying to ignore the cramps; they weren't as horrible as they had been before, but her stomach still ached.

She squinted at the glass of wine in front of her, wishing it were water. She would kill for a glass of water right now.

She sighed, and Kai turned to her with a raised eyebrow. She raised hers and now he was the one who sighed. "I'm sorry… about the fish," he muttered. He scrunched his nose, as if he really were sorry.

Cinder shrugged. "No problem."

"No, I really _am_ sorry." This time, when she looked at him, Kai was biting his lower lip. Cinder rolled her eyes and poked at her own lips, making him to lower his eyes until realisation reached him. He let go of his lip, and Cinder gave him a proud smile.

"I wonder how your lips are like… _that_ ," she said, making a fuss, feeling silly.

Kai smiled, too, and asked, "Like what?"

"So… perfect!" She shook her head. "I mean, I've never seen them bleed. Or injured. Or… um…"

He leaned closer, and Cinder had to keep herself from leaning back. "I'll tell you my secret," he murmured, a smile sounding in his voice. "I use… lipstick. I can share it with you."

Cinder laughed so hard she had to put her hand over her mouth to shush herself. She was sure that Kai's parents were staring at her now, but she couldn't care less. though it made her cramps grew bigger, so she moved her hands to hug herself. "You're an idiot," she said.

Kai shook his head. "You are the idiot. You don't know how good it tastes. I think it is strawberry flavoured, or something like that. Maybe blueberry."

"Stop it!" Cinder hissed, though he was laughing now, too.

The salad was not enough. While the Lee family was eating enormous, ugly, poor fish, she was eating a salad that didn't deserve the name. It was only lettuce, tomatoes, corn and some tasteless asparaguses all put together in a bowl without salt or pepper or anything. Cinder wanted to ask for some vinegar, _at least_ , but was too scared that the waitress would look at her like she was crazy again.

And her belly was worse than before; it was like a monster was eating her from the insides, first her stomach and then her liver and her lungs and her heart. She was literally dying and no one noticed.

Stealing a French fry from Kai's plate, she smiled like she was super happy with her vegetarian lunch and kept eating her lettuce. She grimaced a little as the taste of it took power over her mouth.

"So, Cinder," Rikan said, so she looked up at him. He had his glass of red wine on his hand and was moving it, making little red waves inside it, which hypnotised her for a moment, "for how long have you been with my son?"

Cinder choked with the food and started coughing, just like Kai did when his mother mentioned Selene. They hadn't talk about it, and Kai had passed some time with his father while she was with his mother, so maybe Rikan thought they weren't really a couple, just like his wife. Maybe Kai, who was chewing furiously now, had told something and wanted to know if Cinder would tell the same.

Following her own tip, Cinder caught air through her nose and let it out through her mouth a few times until she wasn't coughing anymore. Kai had turned and now he was face to face with her, a hand in her tight again, squeezing it.

Instead, she faced Rikan again and answered, "What is time when you are with the person you love?"

"That's very sweet," said Rosemary, her red lips losing colour. "But… how long have you two been together? Come on, I—"

"I told you we've been dating for a year, guys," interrupted Kai, and now Cinder was the one squeezing his tight. They had been doing that during all the meal, and now it didn't feel uncomfortable anymore, but kind of reassuring.

"And what about kids?" Rikan asked, like if he hadn't heard anything Kai had said, like his tone of anger, of tiredness, didn't matter.

Kai opened his mouth, but Cinder was faster. "I don't want children, actually."

Rosemary's eyes glittered, and Cinder prepared herself before the storm hit her. Rikan, anyway, used a very calm tone when he chanted, "How curious, because Kai said you two were planning on having a few children on the future."

"I would very much like a granddaughter," added the woman.

Kai was furious, his ears starting to turn red. "On the future, Dad. _Now_ we don't fancy any kids. Are you going to ask her the same questions you asked me or can we keep eating?"

Rikan didn't say anymore.

Cinder excused herself and went to the bathroom.

And her worst fears came true.

When she returned to the table her salad was not there anymore, and Rikan and Rosemary were having a very heated conversation; Cinder couldn't hear anything because they were whispering, but she had other things to think about right now.

Kai leaned towards her. "Are you o—"

"I need a tampon."

He went pale, as uncomfortable as her, and babbled some incoherent things before he said, "You need what?"

"I suppose you know girls have periods, huh?"

"Yeah, but _now_?"

Cinder almost laughed. Or punched him. She almost _punched_ him.

"I can't control it."

"Sure as hell you can't," Kai snapped out and Cinder rolled her eyes. If they kept saying things like that, they weren't going anywhere. "Well I don't have any, as you've _surely_ guessed."

Without thinking much about it, she said, "I'm sure your mother has one."

Kai seemed like he was going to pass out, but Cinder didn't regret her words; she wouldn't ask Rosemary for tampons, not after anything Cinder had said to her— or vice versa. And she was sure that, if she did, the woman would say she didn't have any and laugh or something like that. Cinder stole a glimpse of the table and caught a spoon the waiters had put there for desserts and started fidgeting with it.

Cinder was opening her mouth to plead Kai to ask when he said, "Mom?" Rosemary stopped whispering and looked at his son with a forced smile. "Do you have any— um. Do you have any tampons?"

"For Cinder?"

Cinder blushed, but Kai shook his head. "No."

The spoon fell from her hand, clinging on the table. Her smile disappeared. " _No_?"

"Nope."

Cinder was sure that she was having a heart attack.

"Then for who?"

"For… me?"

Yes, she was definitely having a heart attack.

"Kai, sweetheart, there is something you want to tell us?" Asked his father, a worried frown on his face.

"Wha— no!" Kai bit his lower lip, rolling his eyes, and stood up. Cinder stood up too, felling like she had to. Her cheeks were flaming hot, however, as she took Kai's hand and bit her lips, too.

"It's for me," Cinder murmured, closing her eyes for a second, staring then at Rosemary with a little smile on her lips. She wanted the floor to shallow her entire body, _please, please, please._ "I don't have any."

Kai's hand was sweating, or maybe it was hers, Cinder didn't know, but it kept her from running away. Actually, they weren't _very_ far away from Adri's house thinking about it again, so Cinder could go there whenever she wanted. Kai's family was crazy, and they hated her.

However, Adri and Pearl hated her and were crazy, so it would be almost the same.

"They lost my luggage," Cinder didn't know if she didn't stop talking because she wanted to sound more real—even though it was all true—or because she just didn't want to be in complete silent. "And, ehm, my things were… there."

Kai squeezed her hand, so Cinder decided it would be best if she stopped babbling.

A waitress came to the table to bring the desserts, but Rikan lifted his arm and she was gone almost instantly. Cinder was about to say something more, because that whole situation was ridiculous, since she had only asked for a freaking tampon— well, Kai had asked for it. But it was only a tampon, they shouldn't be _that_ astonished.

"I have one," Rosemary said, but it was like the calm before the storm. "But if you want it, you have to tell us the truth: are you really dating my son?"

"Jesus Christ," muttered Cinder under her breath.

"Mom!" Screamed Kai, every single person in that restaurant turning so they could see him. She looked at him too, and he was red-faced, though Cinder didn't know if it was anger or embarrassment. His mother, on the other side, was shining, like if she had finally achieved what she wanted, while Rikan was simply bored, like always.

That family _really_ was crazy _._

"Okay, that's enough," said the man, surprisingly; it was the very first time Cinder heard him like that, almost angry, but mostly exasperated. And his words were not for Kai or Cinder, but for his wife. Rosemary stared at him like if he had punched her in the stomach, her eyes widely opened, just like her mouth.

Her blood red lipstick was totally gone.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Rikan answered, resolutely. He was deadly serious, and that scared the hell out of Cinder. He was stalking his prey, and soon he would bite her deadly. Maybe she had seen too many films, but she had always hated seeing couples fight. "They are obviously dating, you saw them this morning."

Kai sat, too, and bit his lips, _too._ Cinder caught a strand of hair from her ponytail and pulled it down, trying to think about other things. What Thorne and Cress and Iko should be doing right now, what name Scarlet and Wolf would choose for their future baby, although she wasn't pregnant yet.

What Adri and Pearl would be doing? Cinder wanted to think that they missed her, even though if it was just a little, but she knew better than that; her stepmother and stepsister were probably having the best Christmas ever since Peony died, without Cinder.

She had chosen being with Kai and being his fake girlfriend and being the best future daughter-in-law his parents would ever see, but that family was even worse than her own. What kind of parent didn't believe his son when he brought a girl with him for Christmas? But… maybe Kai had done that before, and that was the reason Rosemary was so sceptical about her.

"Oh, sorry," said Rosemary, making a fuss that almost hit her husband's face. He raised his eyebrows. She kept talking, "I was just trying to be a good Mom, you know? Because if my son kisses a random girl in the airport and the girl seems like he had just slapped him and then run away, it's not suspicious at all, right, dear?" Rikan opened his mouth to talk, but the woman put a hand on his mouth and continued, "And, oh— when my son has been dating a girl for a year and he has never even said a word about it? That's not suspicious, either. I just want the best for him, and that girl is not making any good."

Cinder shouldn't have cared about her words, since she was disappearing from that family in _six_ days, only six, but it was like someone had stabbed her from the back; what did she meant, she was not making any good to Kai? She wasn't that bad. He had laughed more with her than with them, and he had only known Cinder for a few hours.

Rikan opened his mouth again, but it was Kai who talked. Cinder hadn't even noticed how tense he was until she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whoa, you are incredible," he said, sarcasm flooding over his mouth. "Maybe you should think why I didn't bring her home earlier, _Mom_ , because I'm pretty sure it has something to do with you. And secondly, she's perfect for me, thank you very much. Can't you just be good parents and accept my girlfriend? I'm going to be here only for a week. I'm not asking for that much."

Taking Cinder's hand Kai stood up again, just before her. Following him, both of them went out the restaurant without a word.

* * *

Hey! I'm so, so sorry for the late update, but I'm finally here! What, did you think that I'd abandoned this story? Well, nope.

Thank you for Reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and, if you did, leave a review!


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX.**

After they stormed out of the restaurant, Kai leaded her straight to the house; they had been walking for more than an hour now, since they had come in Rikan's car.

Cinder was sure that, if she put an egg on Kai's forehead it would fry in less than a minute, since he was boiling. Literally. His entire face was red with anger, his hands were clenched in two fists one around her hand. His knuckles were already white because of the force he was using and Cinder didn't felt her hand anymore.

She would have said something, but was too afraid that Kai would start screaming like a crazy man and hold her hand even tighter; it was improbable, since he _needed_ her to continue his façade, but _still_. So she kept her mouth shut and followed him, panting all over the way.

Nonetheless she felt like she should say something encouraging, like that his parents were right, she wasn't his girlfriend and they only wanted him to be okay, but that would not cheer him at all. Cinder could tell him that her stepmother was the same as his mom, despite that it wasn't true, just to make him feel better, but she had already told him about her family, so it wasn't a good idea.

And the fact that they walked beside a guy laughing loudly with a girl didn't help. Cinder even heard Kai grunt, and it sounded really bad. She squeezed his hand, but he probably didn't notice it.

Cinder finally dared to protest when she felt sweat running down her neck. Kai stared at her for a few seconds until he said, softly, "Okay."

His voice didn't match with his face at all, but she didn't complain.

Slower, they walked towards a bench; it was the only free bench there, which they found strange, since there were a lot of people complaining about their tired feet, but Cinder was tired too, and didn't think twice before sitting, Kai following her steps.

He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but sighed instead and placed his hand on her tight, brushing it with his thumb, and it all felt very weird, but sweet and natural, and she was just thinking about doing the same when laugh filled her ears.

She turned her head to the sound and could have sworn that the girl who was laughing was the same girl she had seen back in the airport.

"I'm sorry," Kai murmured, so Cinder turned her head again towards him, looking at his eyes, deep dark. "This is a mess, I shouldn't have included you."

"Well, it's not that bad." He smiled, which encouraged her a little. "I still need a tampon, though."

Now it was his laugh filling the air.

"Do you want me to give you a piggy ride?"

Now she was the one who laughed.

"That would be really kind of you," she murmured, pouting at him, making his laugh louder, more beautiful. Cinder laughed, too, but not like him. God, she loved his laugh; she had never heard something like that, and there was a music school just beside her garage.

When they got up, they discovered why there wasn't anybody sitting on that bench. Someone had recently painted it, the note glued to the wood saying so. Cinder supposed that they were too tired and angry to give it a look before, and now their clothes were all covered in brown paint.

Cinder didn't know why, but Kai was all happy about it.

"Now I'm _not_ going to carry you," he laughed.

He was kidding, though; when they got up, he caught her— Kai didn't gave her a piggy ride, but caught her delicately, bridal style, and although Cinder said she could walk, he didn't let her on the floor until they reached his home.

Cinder thought about that all the way through, and she made a conclusion: they might not be a real couple, but maybe they were starting to be friends. She quit thinking like that when they entered the principal door of his mansion.

His parents were there already, Rosemary with her lips pressed tightly, forming a line; Rikan with his arms akimbo, wrinkles on the bridge of his nose.

Kai left her on the floor carefully, and Cinder stopped herself from running to a bathroom, look for tampons, for a painkiller, for food. She was going to be skinnier when she came back to France, given the consequences, and Scarlet would pester her about eating more vegetables and yogurts and milk and a long etcetera.

"Good-night," Rikan wasn't looking at his son, but at Cinder, and that made her freak out. She didn't want that man looking at her that way, like she had just said the dumbest thing ever, or like his son had just befriended the dumbest _girl_ ever. Each way, the word _dumb_ made its appearance. "Could we talk, Miss Linh? Just the two of us?"

"Ehm, su—"

"We," Kai interrupted, "are going to sleep now, if you let us. Night, guys." And, taking Cinder's hand again, went away.

"I've let you a few clothes in you room, Cinder!" She heard, but Kai was closing the door before she could even think of an answer.

Cinder stared at Kai for a very long time until he notice her gaze and stared back at her, his black eyes shining. "You are just being mean, now. They are your parents."

He shook his head. "Good-night to you, too."

Kai was really mad; more than ever. More than the time his parents made him wear a tuxedo for a press conference, more than the time Winter broke his favourite toy, more than the time his Mom suggested Levana as a future daughter-in-law, more than the time Selene, that precious girl, kissed him for the first time and then ran away.

He just wanted to sleep, to cool down and to have another thing to be focused on.

Because he was going to have a heart attack if the rest of the week was like today.

 _Only six days left, only six days left_ , he kept repeating to himself, but it was almost impossible not to freak out when he thought about the six days; he couldn't picture Cinder staying with him the rest of the week, although he liked to think she was strong enough to ignore his parents' comments. How in hell could one woman not give another woman a tampon when she most needed one? It was insane. His mother was insane.

But he couldn't picture his parents hating her for the rest of the week, either. They were a crazy family, yes, but his father was a politician and his mother was his assistant, they had more important things to focus their attention on than their son's fake girlfriend.

And other thing that kept his mind occupied— how could they think they weren't a real couple?

Even _Kai_ had believed they were really dating, because… come on. The kiss. The freaking kiss that now didn't let him sleep.

There was the scene in the airport, he knew that, but after the kiss they had shared that morning, even God would have believed they were really dating.

It had been so real he had been thinking about it all day; how their mouths matched, how the taste of blood from her lips—or his—had filled his throat, how her bare skin had felt under his fingertips, terse and soft and—

He was not thinking about that. Cinder would disappear from his life in six days, they weren't even friends, so he hadn't got the right to fantasise about a fake kiss that had saved him from his parents, a kiss that had been so sudden that even now he could feel the tingle of his toes.

But it was a lie and he knew it and he wouldn't mess it anymore. They would be the best couple ever, and his parents would believe it. They would love them.

Kai grunted and turned around, moving the blankets so now they were up to his chin; it was a strangely cold night, and it seemed like he was freezing, and when he thought about Cinder, on his bed, with all that sheets and blankets and the duvet, he wanted to _cry_. How warm she should be. How comfortable, too, while he was on the rough floor.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he would finish up with his back broken by the end of the week.

And he was sure he would have a mental breakdown, since his Dad had been pestering him about taking his charge as president of Lee C.O.; he wanted to, but wasn't sure if would ever be capable of.

"Are you still awake?" Cinder's voice echoed through his head for what seemed like years, her harsh and sweet tone drowning on his ears. He didn't answer right away, because he had distracted himself with his thoughts and the fact that she wasn't sleeping already, in that fabulous bed, and that fabulous mattress, and— and—

"Yes," he answered, quietly, his back replying at the movement, his neck shouting; Kai ignored them and waited for an answer that didn't come.

Maybe he had really taken a lot of time and she was asleep now, or maybe she was just pretending to be asleep. He didn't know, but he wanted to hear her voice again, talking to him through the dark of the room. It was very late, he supposed, but he couldn't sleep.

"How can you stand my parents?" He muttered to the darkness surrounding him.

And only when his eyelids didn't open anymore, when his back stopped complaining, she whispered, "My family is worse than yours."

This time, he didn't reply, the words floating in the air, his thoughts leaving him unsleeping.


End file.
